Feeding mechanism.



L. R. HEIM.

FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED 001118. 1917.

1,278,463.. Patented Sept. 10,1918.

3 $HEETSSHEET I.

L. R. HEIM.

FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. I8. 1917.

1,278,463. PatentedSept. 10,1918.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

L. R. HEIM FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 18. 1917 mm w 1 m t 1 p8 mw n d H mm 6m m H H m om l 3 3 f K H v. v @N T... on 1 mm am an Q m6 l. g g or? @w STATEs F LEWIS HEIM, OF DANBURY, CONNECTICUT.

FEEDING MECHANISM.

Application filed October 18, 1917. Serial No. 197,238.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS R. HEIM, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Danbury, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvement in Feeding Mechanism, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to feeding and conveying mechanisms, and more especially to a new and improved mechanism particularly adapted to feed parts to a machine to be operated upon thereby.

An object of this invention is to provide a simple and practical feeding mechanism that shall beat the same time of highly efficient action and of maximum ruggedness and durability.

Another object is to provide a feeding mechanism of such automatic action as will greatly minimize the manual attention and operation otherwise required and insure greater reliability of action.

Another object is to provide a feeding mechanism that may be conveniently applied to a machine and readily and easily adjus'ted in itself for greatest eifectiveness of operation in connection therewith and to adapt it to handle parts of different magnitudes without impairment of efficient action.

This invention has for another of its objects the provision of a feeding mechanism which will deliver parts in proper feeding alinement, and which will automatically remove such parts as tend to be delivered out of such feeding alinement.

Other objects will be in part obviousv and I in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the featuresof construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the structure hereinafter described and the scope of the application of vwhich will be indicated in the following claims.

This invention is particularly adapted for use in connection with machines for grinding rolls and the like, an example of which is shown in my Patent No. 1,210,937 of J anuary 2, 1917. As conducive to a clearer understanding', this invention will be described in connection with such a roll grinding machine, but it is to be understood, however, that many features of this invention may be equally adaptable to machines of other types and to other uses. In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one embodiment of this invention as applied to a roll grinding machine,

Figure 1 is a plan view showing the feeding mechanism. in operative relation to the grinding wheels of a roll grinding machine, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same on a larger scale, with certain parts brokenplifying the drawing.

. Similar reference characters refer 'to simi-- .lar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, there are shown the operating wheels of a grinding machine, such as is described in my abovementioned Patent No.1,210,937 of January 2, 1917, of which wheel 10 is the grinding wheel and .wheel 11 the regulating wheel. These wheels may be of the cylindrical type andmay have coacting'faces formed with a slight bevel, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1.

In the latter case the shafts 12 and 13, upon which the operating wheels 10 and 11 respectively are suitably mounted, are slightly ofi set and form a slight angle with one another, so that the operating faces of the wheels lie closer to one another at the front of the ma chine than-at the rear. Extending between the operating wheel is a carrier 14 suitably mounted as by bolt 15 to the standard 16 of the grinding ma chine. This carrier may be of substantially the same construction as described in my Patent No. 1,210,936 of January 2, 1917, and comprises, in general, a bar 14 of substantially rectangular cross section, provided with-sheet metal guiding flanges 17 suitably secured thereto, exterior of the operating wheels, and U-shaped trough 18 secured to the inner end of the carrier and extending in a downward direction in the clearance space provided by the offsets of the operating wheels. The carrier 14 serves to support the rolls between the faces of the wheels during the grinding operation, during which the grinding wheel 10 rotates at a relatively high speed and acts to hold the rolls down upon the carrier and grind them, while the regulating wheel 11 rotates in the reverse direction at a relatively low speed, and acts to cause a constant and uniform rotation of the rolls while being operated upon by the grinding wheel.

' ard 16 of the machine.

Referring now to the drawings, there is provided an inclined main frame, comprising the end members 19 and 20 rigidly connected by a bar 21 securely bolted thereto.

-. This frame is adapted to be attached to a The upper end of the frame is supported by means of a standard composed of the 'bars 24-25, pivotally secured to the end member 20 as by screws 2627 respectively,

and of such length as to extend to the floor.

The bars 24-25 may be connected by suitable tie rods and brackets to insure the rigidity of the supporting standard.

Rotatably mounted within the upper por- .tion of the end members of the main frame, is a roll 28 provided with a driving shaft 29, upon which is mounted the driving pulley 30. Coacting with the driving pulley is an idler 31, suitably mounted on the upper end of the bracket 32, secured to the end member 20 as by the screw 33. The idler serves toproperly guide the belt 34 on to the driving pulley, and is adjustable with respect thereto by means ofthe bracket 32.

Pivotally mounted with respect to the main frame and swinging about the shaft 29, as an axis, is an auxiliary frame com prising the end members 34 and 35 rigidly interconnected at their outer extremities by a bar 36 suitably secured thereto as by the screws 37. The end members 19 and 20 are each milled out on either side thereof as at 38 and 39 to leave a centrally extending portion 40 adapted to fit into the lower slotted ends of the end members 34 and 35. In

this mannera rigid and solid hinge construction is provided, whereby the auxiliary frame may be readily swung about the axis of the roll 28.

Journaled in the end members 34 and 35 of the hinged frame, is a roll 41-provided at its upper end with a shaft extension, upon which is mounted a spur gear 42. This roll is driven by means of the spur gear 42 through an idler 43 mounted upon a stud 44 in the end member 35. This idler gear is, in;turn, driven from the spur gear 45 mounted upon the driving shaft 29 of the roll 28. Roll 41 is substantially similar in construction tothe roll' 28 and is so mounted in the end members 3435 as to leave a slight clearance space between the sired angle with respect to the roll 28, so

for the purposes .of this invention, may or may not be present, the two coacting roll s forming a supporting surface or trough, irrespective of such clearance space.

Referring to Fig. 4 of the drawings, it will be seen that the auxiliary frame, in which the secondary roll 41 is mounted, is provided with a bracket 46 secured to the end member 35 thereof as by screw 47, and adapted to be adjustably secured to the end member 20 of the main frame by the screw 48 extending through the slot 49 in the lower end of the bracket. In this manner the roll 41 may be adjustably positioned at any dethat the transverse inclination or slope of I the supporting surface or trough formed by the two rolls may be varied, the one roll being swung about the axis of the other, as provided for in the hinged construction of the auxiliary frame.

The hinged end members 19, and 34 are cut away, as is more clearly shown in Fig. 1, indirect line with the trough formed by the two rolls, so as to form an extension thereof to facilitate the continued passage of the rolls to be ground from the supporting rolls.

Secured to the swinging end member 34, as by the screw 50, is a sheet metal guiding trough 51, so positioned as to be in alinement with the supporting trough formed by the rolls 28 and 41, and to receive the rolls or other bodies therefrom to conduct them to the carrier 14. The lower end of this trough extends between the guiding flanges 17 of the carrier 14. This trough, being mounted on the end member of the swinging auxiliary frame, will always be in substantial alinement with the trough formed by 105 the two rolls for all positions of the secondary roll 41.

Mounted at the upper end of the bar 21 of the main frame, as by the bracket 52, and at an angle with respect to the frame, 110 is a container 53 adapted to receive a supply of rolls or bodies to be operated upon by the grinding machine. Journaled in suitable bushings as 54 in the sides of the container, is a shaft 55, upon which is mounted a rotary member 56 adapted to cooperate with the rolls 28 and 41 to feed thereto the bodies from the container. The container is provided with a bottom 54' sloping toward the rotary member 56, which v s of such size as to substantially form the lower end of thecontainer. The member 56 is, in general, of a cylindrical form, pro vided with a recess extending in the direction of its axis, and providing a substantially plane surface 57 and a surface 58 substantially at right angles thereto. The rotary member is driven by means'of the shaft 55, at the outer extremity of which is mounted a worm wheel 59 driven from the worm 60, mounted upon the main driving shaft 29, as is more clearly shown in Fig. 3.

Mounted immediately in front of the rotary member-56, and secured to the sides of the container, is a sheet metal guide 61. This guide is so formed that its upper edge 62 is substantially parallel to the axis of the rotary member, and extends across the face thereof, slightly above its axis,and that its lower edge 63 is substantially parallel to the axis of the roll 28 and extending along the upper surface of the roll 28. Secured to the bracket 52 is an auxiliary sheet metal guide worm 60 and worm wheel 59. The rotary member 56, upon the container 53 being supplied with the rolls or other parts to be operated upon by the grinding machine, is slowly rotated in an anti-clockwise direction, and forming the lower inclosing end of the container and by reason of the slop ing bottom 54 therein, picks upin the recess in its surface, a certain number of rolls. Continued rotation of the rotary member 56 carries these parts upwardly until the plane surface 57 of the recess assumes a substantially horizontal position. The rolls which have thus been picked up by the rotary member 56 will be found' placed upon the. plane surface 57 in various positions with respect to the direction of the axis of the rotary member, as shown in Fig. 1. Further continued rotation of the rotary member causes the gradual tilting of the surface 57, whereby the rolls or bodies supported thereon gradually roll off, their order in so doing being determined by their position with respect to the axis of the rotary member. The rolls extending in the same direction substantial] as that of the axis, roll off upon slight tilting of the surface, and those' happening to be positioned at an angle with respect to the axis roll off only after a further tilting of the plane surface has taken place.

Upon leaving the rotary member 56 in the -manner described, the parts are guided by means of the guide plate 61 onto the rolls 28 and 41. The latter rotate in a clockwise direction when viewed as in Fig. 4, and together form a supporting surface or trough for transferring the parts or rolls to the machine. The rolls to be transferred to the machine thereupon take the positions on the coacting rolls as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,

and. are' constantly rotated by the movement of the surface upon which they rest, whereby they are constantly fed or assisted in their downward movementalongthe supzontal, the reaction of the transferring surface upon the rolls is varied, thereby causing a corresponding change in the rate at which they slide down the incline, assisted by the movement of the supporting surface itself. I

' It will be noted that the supporting surface formed by the coacting rolls 28 and 41 has, in addition to the longitudinalinclination above described, also a transverse in-' c lination, that is it is inclined with respect to 1ts projection 1n the horizontal in a plane substantially transverse to the axis of either roll as 28. This transverse inclination is clearly shown in Fig. 4, and it will be further noted that this inclination may be varied by changing the elevation of the roll 41 with respect to the roll 28 by means of the bracket 46. The rolls upon being received in the transferring trough from the rotary feeding member 56, are automatically lined up in the trough formed by the coacting rolls as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The transverse inclination of the trough or supporting surface is now so adjustedthat only a single line of rolls is supported thereby and maintained in feeding alinement with respect to the carrier 14. The moving surface of the roll 28 coiiperates with the adjacent surface of the roll 41, to support this line of rolls and that part of the surface of the roll 28 exteriorof the vertical plane passed through the axis thereof acts to engage those rolls which tend to descend the trough in a second line adjacent the above-mentioned line of rolls. This second line, which may also consist of only a single roll, is carried down the incline, and is held thereon by the guide plates 61 and-64. As soon, however, as the individual rolls, which thus tend to descend adjacent the initial line of rolls pass the guide plate 64, the above-mentioned exterior portion of the surface of roll 28 entransferring trough by the transverse movsment of the surface. The parts which thus tend to be delivered to the carrier 14 and thus to the machine in a duplicate line exterior of the proper feeding path or alinement of the parts are automatically removed and discarded into a suitable receptacle from tion are effectively avoided.

It is to be noted that the adjustment. of the transverse inclination of the transferring trough provides also for accommodating the latter to various sizes of rolls or the like without impairing the effectiveness of the removing operation thereof. The transverse slope is preferably so adjusted for each different magnitude of parts handled, that the center of gravity of the parts in the secondary or duplicate line falls exterior of the vertical plane passed through the axis of the roll 28. In this manner the surface of the roll 28 exterior of this plane will engage such parts and remove them from the transferring trough by effectively rolling them ofi due to the movement of this surface. The rolls maintained in proper feeding alinement, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, pass from the transferring trough through the trough 51 on to the carrier 14, and between the grinding and regulating wheels. Upon passing betweenthe faces of these wheels and being operated upon thereby,

the rolls pass through the trough 18 extending in a downward direction in theclearance space between the operating wheels and into a suitable receptacle.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a feeding mechanism of practical and rugged construction and of highly efficient action and great reliability. It is to be noted also that there is provided an apparatus in which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and that in this invention there is provided a construction in which the several advantages noted, together with many others are effectually gained.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention and as Various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be-understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompany drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

1. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, means forming a supporting surface adapted to guide bodies in a predetermined path and to rotate said bodies while in said path, and automatic means for removing bodies exter or of and adjacent said pat 2. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, means comprising a pair of movable body-supporting surfaces for guiding a body in a predetermined path, and

means for moving said surfaces in a direc-' tion transverse to said path, thereby to remove bodles exterior of said path, said shrfaces being separated from each other by a distance less than the minimum diameter of said body.

3, In apparatus of the class described, in combination, means forming a supporting surface comprising longitudinal rotating rolls adapted to guide bodies in a predetermined path, automatic means for removing bodies exterior of said path, and means for varying the longitudinal inclination of said supporting surface.

4. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, means forming a supporting surface adapted to guide bodies in a predetermined path, automatic means for removing bodies exterior of said path, and means for varying the transverse inclination of said supporting surface.

5. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, means for guiding a body in a predetermined path, means for moving the surfaceupon which said body rests in a direction transverse to said path, and,

means for varying the longitudinal inclination of said path.

6. In apparatus of the class described, in i 8. In apparatus of the class described, in

combination, a pair of inclined rolls coacting to form a supporting surface, means for varying the transverse inclination of said supporting surface, and means for driving said rolls.

9. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, transferring means forming a supporting surface adapted to guide bodies in a predetermined path and to impart rotary movement to said bodies while in said path, a container, means for automatically feeding saidtransferring means from said container, and automatic means for removing bodies exterior of said path.

10. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, means for transferring bodies in a predetermined path, a container, means navaaes for automatically feeding said transferring means from said container, and a pa1r of rotary members driven 1n the same directlon and forming part of said transferring means remove bodies exterior of said path, and. means for feeding, said transferrmg'm'eans from said container.

12. In apparatus of the class described, in

combination a container, apair of members spaced apart and together forming a supporting surface adapted "to guide bodies in.

a predetermined path, and to eject excess ing said members from said container, and an adjusting device forivarylng the transverse inclinationof saidsupporting surface to control the ejection of said excess bodies from said path.

13. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, aninclined cylindrical surface, a secondary surface adjacent said cylindrical surface and forming therewith a supporting trough, means for relatively adjustin said surfaces whereby the transverse inc ination of said supporting trough is varied, a container and means for feeding said supporting trough from said container.

14. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a container, a pairof inclined rolls coacting to form a sup orting surface, means for feedingsaid' inc ined rolls with rollers arranged end-to-end from said container, means for driving said rolls, and

means for varying the transverse inclination of said supporting surface to control the ejection of excess rollers.

15. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a pair of members normally projecting at unequal heights and together forming a transversely inclined supporting surface. adapted to guide bodies in a predetermined path, said members having also av longitudinal inclination, automatic means for removing bodies exterior of said path, and means for varying both the transverse] and longitudinal inclination of said supporting surface.

16. In apparatus of the class described, in

combination, a pair of inclined rolls coacting to form a supporting surface for a series of bodies, and means for driving the rolls, the transverse spacing of the rolls being less than the minimum diameter of the bodies. bodies from said path,-a conveyer for feed- 17 apparatus of the class described, in comblnation, a pair of lnclined rolls coacting to form a supporting trough, means for varying the transverse inclination of said supporting trough, means for driving said rolls, a container, and means for feeding said supporting trough from said container.

18. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, aninclined surface circular in cross-section, a second surface circular in cross-section and adjacent said first surface and forming therewith a supporting'trough, means for adjusting said surfaces whereby the-transverse and longitudinal inclination of'sald'supporting trough is varied, a con-' tainer, and means for feeding said supporting trough from said container.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification thislOth day of October, 1917.

LEWIS R. HEIM. 

